@_martablue: There are many traditional ways to set up an altar dedicated to your ancestors, and the one you see in this video is one of the three ancestor altars I have at home, and one that I can show you. There are different types of ancestors we can work with, but this altar is dedicated exclusively to my bloodline. On this altar, you’ll find photographs, offerings of food, water, earth, fire, air (so herbs, resins, and incense that can be burned), some of their personal belongings, and prayers. In some traditions, the arrangement of these elements is fundamental, especially for practitioners. But what matters most, at least from my point of view, is that your altar is deeply connected to you and the work you are doing. Create it according to your own needs and the ancestors you intend to work with. If you’ve never created one but feel the need to, I want to share some brief information that might be useful to you. First of all, I can assure you that you don’t need everything you see in this video. Their name or photograph, a bowl of fresh water, a white candle, and some food you’ve cooked yourself can be enough. Warm food, home-cooked food, is a profound form of nourishment and healing, both for you and for your ancestors. It establishes a more direct connection, as well as being an act of love, care, and remembrance. However, I believe the placement of the altar is fundamental. The one you see in the video is in the centre of my home, in an area where I spend most of my time and where I don’t feel the need to cover it when people come over. It can remain visible, precisely because it is in a communal area of the house, and it was created specifically to be nourished in this way. One last thing I consider essential to know is that an altar dedicated to your ancestors doesn’t necessarily have to be permanent. You can set up a small altar for one or two months during a period of mourning or a rite of passage, you can set one up for the holidays for a week and then take it down, or you can even create one for a particular anniversary and leave it up for just one day. 🪶 From today until Samhain, I’ll be sharing a series of posts that I hope will help you incorporate ancestor work into your practice. I also want to remind you that we explore this topic in great depth on Substack, and if you’d like to read more, you know where to find me #witchcraft #spirits #spells #folkmagic

Kat · Life in Chaos :

I’ve heard not to put pictures of alive members of family on this kind of altar but I always have had family pictures where someone is still alive with my deceased loved ones. Am I bringing death energy to them?

Françoise ⎕ :

I may be the only one who really feels very hesitant about ancestor work. Something about it feels too much like worshipping people who most likely were not good. Maybe it's just because I don't know much about any of mine past great-grandparents and not even much about them

elizabethvaughn7 :

What about having ancestors that were strong Christians on my altar? My grandmother was my PERSON but she was Baptist. It’s honestly so tricky for me. I have her pic on my altar anyway because I want to respect her 😭

Alexie Gigi :

this is sooo beautiful

Psychic City Witch :

I love shrines.

Carters Archive :

Hi be careful with showing your alter. Not really something that should be shown. Cool set up tho!

Laurelin la Bruja de la Sierra :

omg is beautiful 🥰

cinnamonsugarcottage :

beautiful

Catherine :

Is the shelf a ex church item? It’s perfect 🤩

tammys_twin :

I have a silly question. Is any of this spiritually risky? I don’t do anything really spiritually but I’ve been wanting to do an ancestor altar for years for Samhain/all hallows eve. I don’t want anything unwelcome to come through when trying to honor and connect to my ancestors

al 🧿 :

This is unbelievably beautiful, thank you for the inspiration. I hang my ancestors’ trinkets around the house, but I love the idea of a devoted space for them. I live in my late grandmother’s home, which makes the energy feel even more special.

ila :

Thank you for such an insightful informative post!! I absolutely love this time of year where our ancestors and beloved departed ones feel so near and present 🥰✨

Alicia Smith :

This is so beautiful. Can anyone touch upon connecting with ancestors? I can never feel them / worried some of them they weren’t very nice people? How do I know who to honor etc.

CHANEL ★ ABRIANNA :

Beautiful altar 🖤

Stef :

I've set up an altar every year since 2017. this will be the first year with my father as an ancestor. I can feel the energy is very strong 🖤

ModernCoven :

Your altar is so so beautiful x

12Aims :

𝕯𝖆𝖌𝖒𝖆𝖗 𝖅𝖔𝖎𝖑𝖆 🕯️ :

Beautiful!

Itssyd :

Wow your alter is absolutely stunning 🥹

ThemisTarot LLC✨💫 :

That is beautiful

RissasRealm :

Okay so my husband would have a whole fit if I had anything incense wise BURNING (the smell really effects him and he gets headaches) so what alternative can I do? I keep candles/ fairy lights on the altar already

bunny :

What if you have no photos of ancestors and no connection with family members to get photos?

Keepin’upWithJojo :

This altar is so beautiful ♥️🙏

JacquiBev13 :

I absolutely love this! I have pictures of my family all around me. What a beautiful way to honor them!

Irinchik :

It’s so beautiful 🥹